Gripping mechanism for cars



(No Model.)

W. VOGT.

GRIPPING MBGHANISM FOR GARS. I 110.571,812. Patented Nov. 24, 1896.

de; t? e f/J/ /////S// 1 Z? z lll/ll' UNITED STATES PATENT Enron.

VILHELM VOGT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ABRAHAM A. LANDIS, OF COLLEGEVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRIPPING MECHANISWI FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 571,812, dated November 24, 1896.

Application led March 5, 1896. Serial No. 581,879. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILHELM Voer, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at the city of Philadelphia,in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gripping Mechanism for Cars of Pleasure- Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to mechanism for pleasure-railway cars designed to automatically grip the car or cars while moving to a moving rope or cable at' such a time when the speeds of car and cable are substantially equal, whereby the jolting and jarring of the car heretofore incidental to the connection of the same with 'the cable is avoided; and in such connection it relates particularly to the construction and arrangement of such a gripping mechanism.

The principal objects of my invention are, first, to provide a simple, eiiicient, and automatic gripping device for pleasure-railway cars, by means of which the'cars while in motion for the purpose of hauling or shifting may be secured to a moving cable only when the speed of the car has become reduced to the speed of the cable; second, to provide a gripping mechanism consisting, essentially, of two blocks or cheeks designed to grip the cable and having a range of longitudinal movement in a block secured to the car, each of said cheeks being secured to one end of a longitudinally-movable rod, the other end of .which carries two spring-controlled pivoted jaws, between which the cable is adapted to slide, and when the speed of the cable is equal to that of the car carrying the grip said jaws are adapted to be actuated by said cable to move the gripping-blocks into positive engagement with. the cable, and, third, to provide in such a gripping mechanism two ratch etcontrolled friction-rolls carried by the spring-jaws adapted to rotate loosely upon the cable when the car is moving faster than the cable, but adapted to be locked against movement when the cable approximates in speed that of the car.

My invention, stated in general terms, consists of a grip mechanism for pleasu re-railway cars constructed and arranged in the manner hereinafter described and claimed.

The nature and scope of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which- Figure l is a top or plan view of the gripping device removed from the car, embodying the main features of my invention, and illustrating, in connection therewith, a cable to which said gripping mechanism and car are adapted to be secured. Fig. 2 is an underneath plan viewof the gripping device, partly broken away, and illustrating the construction and arrangement of the gripping blocks or cheeks. Fig. 3 is an end view of the pivoted friction-jaws of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a crosssection taken on the line a; of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top or plan view of a slightly-modified form of the gripping mechanism illustrated in Fig. l. Fig. (i is an underneath plan view of a modified form of the gripping-cheeks illustrated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a top or plan view of a modified form of the pivoted frictionjaws of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, d represent as frame or block of wood or an y other suitable material adapted to be bolted or otherwise secured to the platform or truck of the car (not shown) in such a manner that the same projects downward from the car in the path of a moving cable l). The under side of this block ct is recessed, as at d', to form a wedge-shaped slide or guideway for the two subsiantially wedge-shaped gripping blocks or cheeks d and d'. These cheeks are confined to the block ct by means of bolts d2, so arranged that the bolts have a range of movement in slots d3, out in converging directions in the block o, to thereby permit the cheeks d and d', secured to said bolts, to move slightly in the recess Ct' back and forth in a longitudinal direction. The cheeks d and d are provided with grip* ping-faces, preferably constructed by cutting out one face, as at d, and forming a corresponding projection on the other face, as at d5, substantially as illustrated in Fig. NVhen the cheeks d and d are moved toward the converging end of the recess a', being guided in ICO their movement by the bolts (Z2, sliding in slots (Z3, the cable Z9 will be firmly pinched or gripped between the recessed face (Zt and the projecting face (Z5. In like manner a reverse movement of the cheeks (Z and (Z will separate the faces (Z1 and (Z5 and release the cable b therefrom. rlhe cheeks (Z and (.Z are moved by the following preferred mechanism: The bolts (Z2, to which the cheeks are secured, are at their upper ends brought into slotted connection with a sliding bar e, which has a range of longitudinal movement in suitable brackets or their equivalents e', secured to the top of the block (t. The bar e projects beyond the block (L and, as shown in Figs. l to 5, is pivotally connected to two friction-jaws fandf. These jaws are curved inward, as at f2, and then curved outward, as at f3, terminating, therefore, in flaring ends. The curved portions f2 and f3 project downward in correspondingly-curved wings fi, which lie in the path of the cable ZJ. The extreme ends f3 of the jaws f and f are connected by a spring f5, and the win gs fA1 are thereby drawn toward each other to rest frictionally upon the cable Z). In the form of friction-jaw shown in Fig. l the wingsf4 are cut out at the portions f, corresponding to the portions f2 of the jaws fand j", and projecting through each eut-out portion is a friction-roller f7, having suitable bearings in the lower part of the wing f4, and in the portion f2 of the jaws fandf', as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. These rollers fT are permitted to rotate in one direction only, and that the direction opposite to that in which the cable b is moving, and to accomplish this each roller f7 is provided with a ratchet or ratchet-teeth f8 at one end, in which rests a pawl or detent f. The detents or pawls f are conn eeted by means of a spring f 10, which holds the pawls in engagement with the ratchet-teeth fs. In the form shown in Fig. 5 the curved portions of the wings f4, corresponding to the portions f2 of the jaws, rest frictionally upon. the cable without the interposition of the rollers.

In Fig. 7, instead of pivot-cd jaws f and f' of the construction shown in either Figs. l or 5, there is secured at the free end of the bar c a xed slotted extension e2, in the slots e3 of which are placed friction-rolls f, having a range of sliding movement in said slots, the shafts of the rolls f bein g united by means of a spring fn.

In Fig. (3 amodiied form el' the grippingcheeks (Z and (Z is shown, in which each cheek consists of an eccentricalfly-arranged sector lever or cam (F1, one arm of which is secured to bolts (Z2, while the other arm carries the cam which is adapted to grip the cable.

In Fig. 5 the bar c is normally shifted in the direction the car is moving by means of a leafspring Zz., bolted or otherwise secured to the block (Z.

In operai-ion when the ear approaches the point where the cable b is to be taken on, and the car is running at a much greater speed than the cable, the friction-jaws of the gripping mechanism coming in contact with the cable will be pushed toward the right in the drawings, thus opening the gripping-cheeks (Z and (Z or (Z21 and permitting the car to move without engagement with the cable. As the speed of the car gradually slackens the frietion of the jaws against the cable will lessen, until finally, when the speed of the ear and the cable is the same or approximately the same, the friction-jaws will remain stationary or be drawn slightly to the left by the cable. at which movement the cheeks (Z, (Z, or (F1 will be drawn by the bar e into gripping posit-ion and the ear will take on the cable without appreciable resistance or jarring. In the 'form shown in Fig. l the rollers f7, when the ear is moving faster than the cable, will rotate upon the cable in a direction opposite to that in which the car is moving, but when the cable approximates or slightly exceeds in speed that of the car the rollers f" will, by reason of the pawl-and-ratehet arrangement, cease to rotate.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 5 the jaws and bar e will be pushed inward by the cable against the tension of the spring h to open the grip when the car is moving faster than the cable, but said spring Zt, when the speed of the car and cable is approximately equal.l will shift the bar c and grip mechanism in the opposite direction to grip the cable.

To compensate for the vertical swing of the cable when moving, the wings f4 are made to project a suflicient distance below the block a, and the lateral swing of the cable is com` pensated for by uniting the friction-jaws with a spring]5 orj'z. The jawsfandf' may each be provided with a lug or stop 7c, as illustrated in Fig.. l, to prevent the spreading of the same too far apa-rt when the cable is swinging laterally. Upon the rod c is secured a cross-arm m, projecting at right angles to said rod and arranged in the path of a suitable projection (not shown) extending from the floor of the track at the point where the cable is to be cast oft'. Vhen the projection comes in contact with the arm m, the rod e is shifted to the right to thereby open the gripping-cheeks and release the ear from the cable.

Having thus described the nature and ob.- jects of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. In a pleasure-railway car, a gripping mechanism provided with independent frietion-jaws adapted to rest upon the cable prior to the gripping thereof, said independent friction-jaws adapted `to control the grip mechanism and to prevent the same from operating when the car is moving at substantially greater speed than the cable, as and for the purposes described.

2. A gripping mechanism for pleasure-railway cars, consistingof longitudinally-movable gripping-cheeks adapted to grip the cable, a longitudinally-movable rod secured to ICO IIO

said cheeks and adapted to operate the same, and two sprin g-controlled friction-jaws earried by said rod and adapted to rest friction ally upon the cable, all arranged 'so-that when the car is moving, faster than the cable said friction-jaws and rod will be moved in one direction to open the gripping-cheeks and when the ear and cable are moving at approximately' equal speeds the jaws and rod are moved in an opposite direction to thereby close the gripping-cheeks upon the cable, substantially as and for the purposes described.

A gripping mechanism for pleasure-railway' cars, consisting of two grippingbheeks, abloek supporting; said cheeks and recessed to permit of the longitudinal movement thereof, a longitudinally-movable rod sliding on said block and secured at one end to said cheeks, two spring-controlled friction-jaws pivoted to the other end of the rod, and friction-rollers carried by said jaws adapted to rest upon the eheeks upon the cable, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. A gripping mechanism for pleasure-railway cars, consisting of two gripping-cheeks, ablock supporting said cheeks and recessed to permit of the longitudinal movement thereof, a lon gitudinally-movable rod sliding on said block and secured at one end to said cheeks, a leaf-spring adapted to shift said movable rod in one direction on said block, two springcontrolled friction-jaws pivoted yto the free end of the rod and adapted to rest upon the cable, all arranged so that when the ear is moving faster than the cable, said jaws and rod will be moved against the tension of the leaf-spring to open the gripping-cheeks and when the car and cable are moving at approximately equal speed, the jaws and rod Witnesses:

J. WALTER DoUGLAss, THOMAS M. SMITH. 

